DABBA SHAKERS

These tuned shakers are made from small stainless steel food containers with BBs inside. The tops and bottoms produce clear pitch, and I was able to tune them by a mix of carefully tapping with a hammer and thinning around the edges. In each of the shakers I was able to tune the top and bottom an octave apart at the intended pitch. The choice of what pitches to tune to, and the tuning process in general, was a bit chancy, as each shaker had its own inclinations pitch-wise and I had to work with what was available, but I was able to tune a set of nine of them to a range of tones sufficient for melodic playing. For one person to play nine shakers is challenging, but they are great for hocketing.

Performers in the improvised audio clip are Kumiko Oyeda, Kallan Nishimoto, Jeannie MacKenzie, Sudhu Tewari and Sally Davis. Thanks to Sudhu for providing the dabbas from which the shakers are made. In the video linked below, Dabba Shakers appear midway through.